Your Guide to Learning How to Navigate the NYC Subway.

The NYC subway operates on a 24-hour basis, while Seoul's runs from 5:30 am to midnight. The first line opened in 1904, while the latter began operations in 1974. Additionally, the NYC subway is much older than Seoul's. That means more mileage in terms of tracks (about 203 miles in Seoul versus over 660 miles in New York) and more stations, and a naturally higher budget needed to manage and maintain the system. There are only nine numbered lines in the Seoul subway system, while NYC flaunts 36 lines. While Seoul's subway system is clearly more advanced than NYC's, there are a few details to keep in mind.

One ticket is only the equivalent of $1.02 for a base fare, while children pay $0.34. There are heated seats in the winter, and plenty of space and seats are reserved for pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. They have a 99.9% punctuality rate, and once aboard, passengers can find almost any comfort. There are also bathrooms in every single station, and the system flaunts 856 elevators in 292 stations. In Seoul, every station is equipped with platform doors, which help improve air quality and prevent passenger accidents.

Still, the NYC subway operates with over three times Seoul's annual budget but doesn't exactly offer the same customer experience. Instead, she cites the $17 billion budget of the entire Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which also operates bus and commuter rail systems. It's worth noting that the video's creator misstates this fact. Seoul's annual subway budget is about $1.68 billion, while NYC's was $5.2 billion in 2019. One of the main things the video highlights is the ratio between cost and budgets versus actual quality of the systems. Yet, when compared to a few other subways around the world, efficiency might not be the first term that comes to mind.Ī widely shared video recently drew comparisons between the NYC subway system and that of Seoul, South Korea, and New Yorkers who watched it are probably already crying in front of the screen (myself included). New York City's subway system is often the target of criticism for late trains and dirty stations, but it remains one of the most efficient ways to get around town.

Nyc subway system